Waters (NYSE:WAT) Shares Gap Down to $304.18

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $304.18, but opened at $296.30. Waters shares last traded at $292.62, with a volume of 102,246 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WAT. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.67.

Waters Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $337.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.46. The company has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $815.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAT. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Waters by 9.7% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,889 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,325,000 after acquiring an additional 4,936 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Waters by 295.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 127,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,102,000 after buying an additional 95,577 shares in the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,818,000 after buying an additional 41,638 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Waters by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Waters by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 13,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.